sticksandbones | And if I believe you [OPEN]

Entry tags:

trigun: wolfwood

And if I believe you [OPEN]

Who: Nicholas D. Wolfwood and YOU
What: Wolfwood gets a [nondenominational but it's also definitely Catholic] church
When: Throughout January after the event
Where: The Grove
Warnings: N/A will edit if needed

[A new building has appeared in the South part of the Grove.

It's small. It's exterior seems dilapidated and old despite its newness, and- at least for the first day it's around- every window is shattered and decrepit looking. This is the building that Wolfwood had asked Heimr to build for him, and honestly he was not expecting it to look this bad. It's actually kindof impressive. Like, dude, you have...magic, how could you not have made it look less shitty than this-

But, well. If anybody is wondering what it is, the shape of its steeple and the fact its topped with a little cross would clue anyone in who has familiarity with such iconography that this is, in fact, a Church. A Church that has little by way of entertainment to offer guests, but should you wander inside...

It's just as run down as the outside, though mostly because there's plant life growing everywhere. It's structurally sound otherwise, mostly, and it's clear given how some of the vines have been torn away recently that someone is trying to clean it up. It's...depending on when you find it, either empty, or there's Elsword watching you from the rafters because Wolfwood hasn't figured out how to remove him yet. He may just live here now.

Other than that though, there are books that you can pull from behind the pews to read. Bibles- "Bibles"- that don't seem to conform to any religion so much as it talks about a strange sort of religious order surrounding "Plants", so that probably isn't suspicious at all.

At the head of the sanctuary is a pulpit where a pastor might presumably give a sermon, and off to the side of it is a confessional box. The confessional box has a piece of notebook paper taped to it that reads "5 shells for 15 minutes. Confess all of your sins. -W"

The pulpit itself, if this building's owner wasn't clear enough, has a little plaque on it that reads, as if sarcastically: Saint Nicholas]

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[It's been a long week.

With each passing day, Vash has grown warmer. The chill in his chest steadily fades, and the deep, ragged scar goes from frostbite blue to a fresh, mottled pink. His fingernails are no longer blue, skin no longer frosty to the touch. Much to his relief, his body isn't the only thing affected by time, either. More and more pieces chip away from behind his mind, revealing a flood of feeling day by day.

Of course, with feeling comes guilt. He may not have felt in that near frozen state, but he does remember. And what sticks out most vividly within his mind is the memories of Wolfwood that first night. The click of a gun, the fear that had followed, and the way Vash had felt next to nothing as it all happened.

And so one day, when Wolfwood enters the church, he'll find five shells and a closed confessional door waiting for him. It's hard to say how long "this person" has been there, but -

Well.

They're certainly snoring away in there. Oops.]

[Wolfwood was out for a short while, dumping some of the vines he'd managed to rip off the walls and pews. He has half a mind to ask Heimr why the building showed up like this when others haven't (that he knows of), but whatever...he's doing it more because he has to, not because he wants to. When he comes back, he's fully expecting the place to be empty, if you don't count his squatters that have been in and out since the thing appeared, and treats it as such as he enters and closes the door behind him to the tune of an echoing thud.

Down the aisle he walks, brushing a hand along the pews that comes away dusty. It's plenty of food for thought as he approaches the pulpit, only to be surprised by a small handful of shells placed on the shelf of the confessional box, the door to which is closed when it was open when he left. He's genuinely surprised by it, but only for a moment.

He'd recognize that snoring anywhere.

Vash's behavior as of late has been more than a little concerning, with how he's been acting. Or, perhaps it's more accurate to say how he hasn't been acting. His emotions, well...simply haven't been a thing, and that's more alarming than anything for someone as outgoing as Vash. It's been getting better bit by bit, but Wolfwood hasn't been satisfied enough with his progress. It's worrying. But what can they do? It's not like Add knows how to doctor a Plant...

He sighs, approaching the confessional with a wry frown before he enters the side for the pastor to sit, pulling the door shut behind him before he unceremoniously bangs a fist on the joining wall.]

Wakey wakey.

Wh -

[There's a thunk as Vash shoots up, bashing his knees on the door and nearly cracking his head against the side of the box. A second thud follows as something falls to the ground. He mutters to himself for a few seconds as he rubs the surely bruised spots on his knees. Eventually he opts for shaking his head and trying to parse out his surroundings.

On the ground there now sits a bible. He stares at it with a perplexed look on his face, before reaching down to pick it up once more. That's right, he'd been thumbing through it before nodding off. He had hoped to find the familiar text that Nai had once showed him. Instead, there had been nothing but a narrative that had perverted even the optimistic bits of the tale within.

It's an ideology he's at least familiar with, even if he doesn't like to think about it. He couldn't not be aware of the cult that had sprung up in the wake of the Big Fall. He'd always wondered if Nai had orchestrated it intentionally, or if it had all happened by accident.

Simultaneously, he never wanted to know the truth.

Setting the Bible aside, Vash leans his head up against the wall nearest Wolfwood. He gives a sleepy sounding sniff before sighing. He has something important to talk about, after all. Important enough that he probably shouldn't be fooling around like this, but he also can't bring himself to look at Wolfwood just yet.

The desperate looks he'd given Vash over the past weeks were not lost on him. He hadn't missed the fear in his eyes with every limp, half-hearted response he'd mustered up. Even now, he's afraid that his efforts might fall short, might not be him enough. And he doesn't want to see that despair on Wolfwood's face.]

Howdy, Father. Or should I say, Saint. Think you could help a poor sinner out?

[He keeps his tone light and playful. It's everything that haunted version of himself couldn't do. Surely that'll put his mind at ease.]

[Wolfwood sits back on the unforgiving wooden seat, listening as Vash fumbles around on the other side. Just how long has he been in there, he wonders? It's not like he was gone long, but he had to go all the way to the forest's edge to dump the plant matter (definitely putting himself in the Forest's best graces, here), so honestly who knows. That matters less to him than what he says, which definitely sounds more like Vash than he had weeks prior.

He sighs deeply, folding his arms across his chest.]

If you and Squirt start calling me Father I might just have to throw myself into the river.

[He looks ahead at his knees, a silence building between them. He actually has no idea what Vash could be here to confess, but it isn't lost on him that this could be an excuse to talk more than anything, so.

Fine.]

Sure. I'm tired of cleaning this dump anyway.

[Vash could start their conversation. That would be the logical thing to do, rather than toying with Wolfwood. Instead he just starts giggling over the idea of "Father Wolfwood" catching on around the town. For many reasons, Vash has never been particularly faithful, but he could at least be convinced to play the part for the bit.

Eventually, though, the Plant does sober up. He doesn't speak right away, instead positioning himself so that he can lay his chin over his knee. He keeps his head lolled against that particular panel, closeness even as he denies himself the very same.]

I've never done this before, so... you'll have to forgive me. [A thoughtful sniff.] It starts with "Forgive me father for I have sinned," right? And then I talk about my actual sins?

[The sole boot left on the ground shuffles and scratches at the floor a few times.]

I think I really worried someone I care about. Probably several someone's, actually. See, I got real reckless. And as a result I don't think I've really been myself, lately.

It probably scared some folks real bad.

More or less. But, uh...since you're my first "customer", it really don't matter.

[Wolfwood likely would never require something like that anyway. Too formal. Just say what you want to say.

He listens to the way Vash continues to anxiously fidget on the other side, which is more like him...and then he starts to talk.

That's when Wolfwood lifts his head a little, glancing over at the wall where that slatted window is so he can hear Vash talk.]

...oh yeah? [His voice is low. Even lower than normal, really.] Sounds pretty rough. Are you reckless often?

No, no way! Not me - [There's a click as Vash slams his mouth shut, then the faint sound of a mirthful exhale.] Unless, uh. Lying was a sin. In which case I'd say "haha just kidding."

[Silence fills the makeshift chambers then. Vash finds a particularly enamoring crack in the floor, and finds himself staring into it. If he lingers long enough, maybe he can will it back in shape with his mind. It would be easier than talking, right?

Damn.]

... I am. I don't mean to. But sometimes I see something happening and... my body just moves. I throw myself into danger because it's... "the right thing to do."

One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt not lie", so what do you think?

[Not that most people follow it, or any of the Commandments. If your eternal salvation was based solely on how much you lie, the entire population of humanity would be in a loooooot of trouble.

Wolfwood is quiet for a moment after Vash says that, because...yeah. This is true. He knows this to be true about Vash, he's seen him do it dozens of times before. It's maddening, each and every time.

But...there's something he's learned these last few weeks, even if it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.]

But if you didn't risk yourself for other people...you wouldn't be Vash the Stampede. Would you?

Okay, okay. Point taken.

[The longer the silence lasts, the more uneasy Vash starts to feel. His mind starts to race, scolding him for going about an adult conversation in such a juvenile way. He could only imagine the fury growing on Wolfwood's face, the way his lips might pull back from his teeth, or the way his brows would dip below those shades.

It was only a matter of time until he began to snarl and snap. Vash would deserve every second of it. He'd take every word to the face and swallow it down to become more rot later on down the road, just as he always does.

But the tainted words never come, and Vash never has to swallow. Vash forces a laugh, but it's weak and falls flat.]

H-hey, I don't think I ever gave you my name. [As if he actually thinks he's fooling anyone.] But... if I were? Maybe you'd be onto something.

[He presses himself that much harder up against the wall separating them. This was such a stupid idea. He should have waited until they were home, until he could properly hold Wolfwood and assure him. Forget his cowardice and unwillingness to see his lover's face, he should have tackled it head on.]

That doesn't mean I haven't hurt the people I care about doing it. That I didn't make you - I mean him - think that I was gone.

[Vash has every reason to think Wolfwood would be pissed the hell off with him for doing this. This is the first time they've really gotten a chance to talk about what happened- you can't when the other party has been turned into an emotionless husk, not really- and it's being done through a wooden wall. And yes, Wolfwood isn't exactly having himself the best time lately, all things considered. The whole reason behind this church being here is due in part to that, but his talk with God in the Forest he plans on taking to his grave.

But more than his frustration at this whole situation, he's been...genuinely afraid of what's been happening to Vash. You see, Vash is different. He's...not human, so how is he supposed to know if some kind of weird magic resurrection hasn't just fucked him up forever? It gives Wolfwood's mind too much room to run wild with ideas that may or may not hold water, and because of that, he doesn't want to spend what could be Vash's real last moment's yelling at him. In the end, it turns their "usual" interaction into something that feels alien, and wrong.

He glances off to one side as Vash continues to play it off, acting like he's someone Wolfwood doesn't know. Sure, fine. He'll keep playing along.]

...you're right. You have hurt people. Whether intentional or not...you have.

[And not just Wolfwood. He hasn't forgotten that look on Nai's face when he looked to him, begged him with his eyes to do something. It was haunting, no other word for it.]

He didn't just think you were gone. He had no reason but to assume you were. As far as he knew, that was it. Gone. Forever.

[Zahliya usually hangs out on the roof of the inn. His church he used to sit in front of as a stone creature is dead and gone now, ever since the creature broke out of it and it was repurposed into a temple for cult activities. The inn is therefore the closest he can get to a good vantage point to Perch and Watch Things.

...and then the new church goes up. And Zahliya, a simple garg, literally flies over from the inn to the church, in Wolfwood's full sight btw, and perches on top of This roof instead. This is a better roof. It is a Religious Roof. This is what the gargoyle prefers.

He will now.......................... perch.]

[Passenger is very surprised to see a fucking building where there wasn't one yesterday. He supposes this aligns with the usual oddities around this place, if anything Sesa told him was true.

He decides to check it out. Who would he be, if he weren't investigating these sorts of things? He goes inside, decides the church is distinctly Lateran... sees "Saint Nicholas" on the plaque and nods like ah, a Lateran Saint, of course, makes sense. Surely Federico would love to talk to this guy, they're both Saints!

Anyway, Passenger will be found in the pews an hour later leafing through those cult texts.]

[Wolfwood has been fighting a losing battle. He's got a broom in hand that he's been ineffectually waving as Elsword for the last hour trying to get him down from the rafters (he could shoot at him but 1) not in his church he just bought and 2) elsword is rapidly somehow becoming his little guy), so it is for MAXIMUM comedic effect and timing that he walks out right as Zahliya flies over.

Perches. :)

Wolfwood grits his teeth, hurling the broom into the snow.]

Come on! Ya'll can't just park yer asses wherever you damn well please! Didja even ASK me first?!

If you're waiting for a sermon, we don't do that here.

[Calls a voice from the entryway as Wolfwood walks in with the doors half open behind him, letting some of that chilly winter air in before he pulls it shut with his foot. He walks on down the aisle without looking back, ripping up plants off the pews as he goes.]

[Elsword is in the church. Sorry. He will not leave the rafters. While Zahliya is perched outside of it on the roof despite the cold, Elsword is inside, being kind of... out of it? While God in his brain basically goes "mmmmmmmm church" at him. There's not much room to fly, but he still flits about either way before finally nestling himself high up between some beams and laying there with his wings hanging down.

Ishmael in his head is like YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS right now. Illuminous Phenomenon eat your heart out.]

Oi! Glowstick!!

[Oops your nickname downgraded temporarily sorry Elboy-]

Don't make me come up there. [Brandishing his broom like >:(] You can't just live here- get! Go on! Shoo!

What about the alternative?

[It rises up before Vash can really stop himself. He knows they won't see eye to eye on this much, but it needs to be said. If the roles were reversed, it would have been Wolfwood's blood on his hands. If he had failed to act, he would have watched someone else he loved die.]

I've always been afraid of losing him, you know. To the point that I did some real stupid things to keep him at arm's length. [He swallows, while the sound of his nervous shuffling echoes through their shared space.] But now that we had made up our minds, I couldn't just let him slip away...

[He isn't trying to dodge the blame, not really. He just wants Wolfwood to see that picture.]

... either way, he deserved better than that. And then what happened after, too. I just hope he knows I never stopped calling to him, even when I couldn't hear myself. And that he knows how sorry I am for all of it.

[In the thickest, most R-rolly, growly Gargoyle accent:]

It is public property! It is a church! I am a gargoyle! You are being rude.

[Passenger wordlessly holds up the cult texts™ he's reading over his shoulder, waving the book around for a moment before he settles it back on his lap.]

Not so. My curiosity was piqued with the appearance of a Lateran Church here, but judging by the texts within, it is less distinctly Lateran than I had thought, based on appearance. ...are you the Saint?

[Elboy pouting—]

I'm not trying to live here. [ >:( ] I'm just kind of... drawn to holy places, I guess?

[The alternative. Yeah, he knows what Vash means. It would have meant Wolfwood getting run through by that spear, and then they would have had the same situation, except in the reverse. And...thinking on it, he knows Vash would take a loss like that much harder, and Wolfwood already took it hard to begin with.

Vash will hear him audibly sigh through the wall, stretching his legs out as far as he can in the cramped confines of the confessional, which isn't that far at all.]

......can you hear him now?

Sure, fine, it's public. But not all churches have Gargoyles, you know.

[Especially not little baby ones like this one!!!]

I'm a Priest, yeah. [That plaque has not missed his notice, don't worry.] I ain't heard of that denomination, but this ain't Lateran either.

[That one might as well be a Catholic-Presbyterian hybrid lbr]

Coulda' fooled me. You've been here since this morning, and I left and came back and you're still here.

[He huffs, letting the broom thunk into the floor next to him.]

[There's a rustling sound, followed by one side of the doors sliding open. His boots don't go far, only moving in front of Wolfwood's side of the confessional. He doesn't open it yet, just... seems to shuffle back and forth.]

If I really strain, I think so.

[Perhaps Wolfwood will catch a glimpse of the way Vash leans against the wall, posing beside the door as he waits for his partner to peek out. There's a shy smile playing over his lips, just barely concealing the hint of doubt lingering on his face.]

Do you think he'd forgive me?

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And if I believe you [OPEN]

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gargoyle, as promised

surprise thunderbird, this oughta be good-

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HEEHEEHEE

okay last one i'm sorry-

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